So interesting. I wonder (as I asked Alan below) how traditional government will fit into this in the future. In theory, we're already donating money (taxes) to get things done...what will happen to taxes if crowdfunding city projects takes off?

Super cool. I think the future will see more and more direct contributions from citizens themselves in city planning. Citizens of a city will be able to go online, discuss what their city needs most, vote and discuss it, and then crowdfund it. Ultimately, that's the end goal of our Community Wishlist (www.funderhut.com/cwl). We'll be turning it into an online town-hall meeting in which people like you and I can log on at our own convenience, vote and discuss what our own communities need, and then convert them into live, crowdfunding campaigns. Very good article, thank you for sharing!

We think that the current style of town-hall meetings is inefficient. The same few people attend all of the meetings, and there isn't enough involvement from the community those decisions impact. By moving it online, traditional city governments will be able to attract a wider demographic of their communities, since the discussions can happen on everyone's own time, at their own convenience. That way, local officials can more efficiently understand what the needs of a community are and the best use of civic funds. In terms of crowdfunding, they can take projects perhaps that are secondary in terms of importance (for example a sculpture in a park as opposed to fixing a pothole), and rather than increasing taxes, crowdfund them directly instead. At least that's our goal :)

I'm not certain getting more public funds in real estate is good investment with the market already shaky and climate change certianly won't cooperate. But at the same time it's like if New York City didn't have Robert Moses; need for planning, and voluntary donations is helpful rather than relying on entrepreneurs.

That's a good point—it does seem like a somewhat shaky investment. It's also interesting to think about the need for planning...I'm curious about how local regulation fits into everything, and if projects have to jump through the same hoops they would otherwise. If crowdfunding means buildings get built faster, is it possible that in some cases (with less scrupulous project leaders) they might not be as well thought-through?